My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 113: The Red Woods

Violet

My full awareness returned slowly, like I was resurfacing from deep waters.

I was standing in the forest still, but something was different. The air had a stale heaviness to it that nearly made me nauseous. The trees around me had changed. Their bark was darker, almost black in places, and the shadows between them seemed to pulse with a life of their own.

The trees were denser too and the barely visible light that filtered in, caught on the leaves in a strange way that made them look more crimson than green. It felt as if every single surface around me had a barely noticeable but distinct red hue.

It was as if I had crossed some invisible boundary while my consciousness was slipping and entered a place that followed different rules.

I had the uncomfortable feeling that I knew exactly where I was, and it sent a chill down my spine.

Everything I could see fit the conversations and discussions I had heard during the settlement of the very venue of the hunt... and about the dangerous creatures that lived in the darkest parts of the forest.

I had wandered into the Red Woods.

Fear spiked through me, sharp and immediate, cutting through the haze of pain and chaos that my syzygy was still wreaking through my body.

No...

Why would it bring me here?!

The pull in my chest remained constant, that insistent tugging that had dragged me this far suddenly felt a bit different here.

I heard movement in the bushes to my left.

My head snapped toward the sound, my body tensing despite the pain that lanced through me with every movement. My injured hand throbbed where the pendant had cut into my palm, blood still seeping between my clenched fingers.

A large shape emerged from between the trees.

A huge wolf with shaggy fur heavily streaked and slick with an even darker substance that slightly glinted. Then I realized, with growing horror, that it was blood. Fresh blood that hadn’t come from it.

And its glimmering eyes...

Those sharp, glowing blue eyes were unmistakable.

Darnel.

He froze the moment he saw me, his entire body going rigid with surprise. His nostrils flared as he scented the air, and I saw the exact moment recognition hit him.

His eyes widened. Then narrowed. Then something that looked almost like delight crossed his wolfish features.

Bones cracked and reformed as he shifted right there in front of me. Within seconds, a half-naked man stood where the wolf had been, that same twisted delight spreading across his twisted face.

The underlying sinister feeling that disturbed me about him was now out in the open.

I stumbled backward, my torn dress catching on even more branches as my bare feet slid on loose earth and leaves.

"Well, well, well..." he said, his voice carrying that same mocking tone, but without the restraint.

I wasn’t sure if it was the influence of the eclipse, but whether it was or not, there was something darker in the way he looked and talked now. Something unleashed. "Look what wandered into the hunt."

He took slow, deliberate steps toward me, like a predator approaching wounded prey.

"How did you even get here?" he continued, genuine curiosity mixing with amusement in his expression. "Little Omega, all alone in this dangerous, dangerous place. During my favourite time of the year, no less." He chuckled, the sound sending chills down my spine. "This must be fate."

I tried to back away further, but my legs were shaking. My body still rebelled against my frantic attempts at control. My syzygy flared wildly, responding to my fear but not helping. It only added to the chaos in a way that nearly made me cry out.

"Stay away from me," I managed to say, though my voice came out weak and breathless.

"Or what?" He tilted his head, that mocking smile widening. "What will you do? You couldn’t even touch the youngest, do you think those measly tricks would do anything to me?"

My heart nearly stuttered to a stop.

He had been watching while I trained.

Just how long had he been monitoring me?

"You can barely even stand." He then paused, holding his stomach as his head leaned back in a wicked laugh. He wheezed, wiping joyous tears from his eyes. "Just when the week couldn’t get better, my favourite prey has appeared."

Prey?!

I flinched at another sudden movement, and it made both of us turn our heads.

Another wolf emerged from the tree line. Darker fur, a leaner build, but from the sharp green eyes, I recognised Corin.

He stiffened too in surprise upon seeing me. I wasn’t sure how, but I caught genuine shock and a bit of concern in his eyes as they darted between Darnel and I.

"Free game," Darnel said, his voice taking on a predatory purr as he glanced at Corin. "She just walked right in. Must be our lucky day."

My chest tightened so much that it hurt. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

No...

I had to get away. Had to run. Had to—

My legs finally obeyed, and I turned to flee.

Behind me, I heard bones cracking as Darnel shifted.

Then I heard the heavy pounding of paws against earth as he launched himself at me.

My heart lurched in my chest as I mentally braced for impact. I made a sharp turn, hoping to avoid his attack when I saw another massive body slam into Darnel’s.

The two wolves collided with brutal force, tumbling away from me in a tangle of fur and fangs. They hit the ground hard, already tearing at each other.

I stumbled, grasping onto a tree as I nearly fell down. My mind struggled to process what had just happened.

Corin?

The same Corin who despised me, who had clearly blamed me for what happened to him, had just thrown himself at Darnel.

The two wolves circled each other now, lips pulled back in vicious snarls as if they seemed to be communicating. Darnel’s fur bristled with rage and his blue eyes blazed with fury.

Corin’s darker form was coiled tight, ready to strike again.

Then Darnel lunged.

They collided again, and this time there was no pause, no circling. Just immediate, brutal violence far worse than what I had seen that night in the settlement.

Teeth found flesh. Claws raked through fur and skin. Blood sprayed across the red-tinted leaves, adding fresh crimson to the forest’s dull colour.

They were truly trying to kill each other!